Page 6 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
“Hungry?”I asked him.“I thought we’d grill some chicken tonight.Sound okay?”
“Yes, I’m starving,” said Robbie.“When’s Dad coming home?”
“Not for another couple of weeks.And then he’ll be around for a while,” I said, already anticipating that time.For all the fame he had achieved in his career, Vaughn loved being at home with us.
“How’s the homework situation?”I asked.
“Done,” said Robbie, smiling.If a swim team member had failing grades, they were kicked off the team.That rule alone was much more effective than any nagging parent.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to your music,” I said, rising.
“Thanks, Mom,” said Robbie.“Brett and I decided we’d go to the Freshman dance after all.Okay?”
“Yes,” I said, surprised.A few short months ago, Robbie wouldn’t have ever agreed to go.But he’d started receiving phone calls from girls, making me wonder which girl had caught his eye.“Are you going alone?”
Robbie grinned at me.“Yep.”
I smiled to myself.Maybe later I’d get more details.
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That night, after doing the dishes, I sat down at my desk in my home office and did an online search on Jonny Arno.He was described as being in his early fifties, a native of Buffalo, New York.He’d studied in Europe at several restaurants, training under a well-known chef in Lyon, France.
I read through another bio of him.He was not married, had no children, and had won several awards for his restaurant in Miami called Chez Michel.Although his bio was impressive, the comments made by some people on a certain social site were not.As Chet and Harper had indicated, Jonny was known for being abusive and difficult to work with.
I turned to reviews of his latest cookbook.So many five stars.
After buying an online copy, I read through some of the recipes.As Rhonda had indicated, it would be very difficult to prove that Jonny had stolen some of the recipes from Chet.I realized it had taken a lot of guts for Chet to confront the well-known chef.Even after briefly meeting the young man, I didn’t think his claims were about the money.Tomorrow, I’d have a better opportunity to verify that.
I went to check on Robbie, put Cindy outside, and after she came in, I headed to bed.
Slipping under the light blanket, I reached for my ringing cell on the bedside table.Noticing Vaughn’s smiling face on the screen, I curled my toes.He still had that effect on me.
“Hey, babe,” he said in a sexy drawl I knew was meant to amuse me.
“Hi, sweetheart!How are you?”When we’d first dated, it took me a while to separate the television screen smile and his lines from soap-opera scenes from the true, more intimate ones he gave me.
“I miss you,” Vaughn said.“I thought we’d get through this filming sooner, but my co-star is always late and doesn’t always know her lines.It’s very frustrating.I want to be home with you and the family.I heard from Nell.She and Clint are planning to come for Thanksgiving.”
“Yes, I spoke to her as well.I can’t wait to see them.I’m still hoping they’ll relocate to Florida.”I loved Vaughn’s daughter, Nell, like my own.She’d always been a big supporter of mine when Vaughn was still recovering from the death of his wife and wasn’t sure about marrying again.Ty, Vaughn’s son, lived in San Francisco with his wife and family.And though we didn’t see him as often as we’d like, we kept in touch.
“What’s going on there?Any new suspense at the hotel?”Vaughn teased.
“As a matter of fact, you won’t believe what’s happening.Brock Goodwin has invested in a new restaurant up the beach from the hotel, and he’s claiming it will take a lot of business away from The Beach House Hotel.But the chef, Jonny Arno, is someone who doesn’t have a great reputation.”
“Brock Goodwin is an ass who just loves to torment you and Rhonda.How can he win this time?Jean-Luc’s cooking is known throughout Southwest Florida.”
“Here’s the twist.A young chef who has been blackballed from working in Miami by Jonny Arno is interested in working for us.Rhonda and I are interviewing him tomorrow.Liz and Angie may hire his girlfriend as a bartender to help expand bar activity with a younger crowd.”
“Ah, now that’s sounding more like intrigue at the hotel.Vice-President Amelia Swanson isn’t involved, is she?”
Chuckling, I said, “So far, she’s out of the picture except for continuing to promote the hotel.”
“She’s put you and Rhonda in danger before.Let’s keep her out of this.Okay?”
“I’ll try, but we never know when Amelia might need our help,” I said, loving the protective tone in his voice.
We talked about Robbie and the swim team and a range of topics and then Vaughn said, “I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again.I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
